KAAA and Post-war New Territories 嘉道理農業輔助會及戰後新界

The KAAA, forerunner of the Kadoorie Farm, was established to help immigrant farmers fleeing political instability in the Mainland China to make a living in Hong Kong. 

Soon after the end of the Second World War, civil war broke out in China. Escaping refugees fled into Hong Kong en masse. Those with little money or skills settled in the New Territories as subsistence farmers. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s post-war government was faced with the daunting task of feeding a rapidly growing urban population. They needed to step up so as to improve local agriculture so as to safeguard food security and help destitute farmers.

The benevolent brothers Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie felt that a dedicated agricultural programme would be a viable solution. So, working in partnership with the government and farmers in need, they founded the KAAA in 1951 in the hope that those who were willing to help themselves could achieve self-sufficiency through farming, and in doing so help fulfil Hong Kong’s food demand.


嘉道理農業輔助會（農輔會）為嘉道理農場前身，成立的宗旨是協助因逃避中國内地動盪政局而來港的農耕移民，讓他們自力更生。

二戰結束不久，中國內戰爆發，大批內地難民湧到香港，當中不少身無長物，只能散居新界務農爲生。當時香港人口急增，糧食需要求殷切，故政府必須扶腋農業以保障糧食安全，同時幫助貧農。

羅蘭士和賀理士嘉道理一向慈善爲懷，認為一個精心構思的扶農計劃可解眼前嚴峻問題。在與政府漁農部門及有需要的農民通力合作下，兄弟倆於1951年創辦嘉道理農業輔助會，透過農耕讓貧農自給自足，同時亦可滿足香港糧食需求。

Receiving working cattle from KAAA
農民獲農輔會送贈耕牛

Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie knew that pigs grew rapidly and so the farmers would get the satisfaction from nurturing their rapidly growing capital. In its first year of operation, the KAAA focused on teaching farmers the art of pig-raising.

The KAAA offered interest-free loans for pigsty construction, two to three sows as breeding stock as well as detailed instructions for care and feeding. Loan repayment was due when the litter was mature enough to be sold at market. This scheme was to become the driving force behind the development of the pig and poultry industry in post-war Hong Kong.

嘉道理兄弟考慮到農民心理：豬隻成長速度快，農民看到資本迅速增長，努力有回報，自然有成功感和上進心。因此，農輔會成立後首項工作就是全力推展豬隻養殖。

農輔會向農民提供免息貸款興建豬舍，並給予兩至三頭母豬，指導餵養。母豬生的小豬長成、推出市場售賣後，農民才需還款。計劃大大促進了豬隻和家禽養殖業在戰後蓬勃發展。

KAAA distributed sows to farmers
農輔會向農民分發母豬

The KAAA also supported local public works and brought significant improvement to local villages. They distributed over 430,000 bags of cement plus other building materials for the construction of village paths, dams, and irrigation channels. Over 318km of roads and paths were built in the New Territories.

Following the approval of the relevant District Office, the KAAA would issue cement to village communities. Construction work was mostly undertaken by villagers during the off-season.

Together, these measures improved irrigation and enhanced agricultural productivity. The faster and more efficient transportation of fresh vegetables meant a better economic return for farmers.

農輔會同時著力支援鄉郊工務，改善農村生活，多年來捐贈了430,000包水坭及其他建材，用作修建鄉村道路、水壩和灌溉水道。修築了的鄉村小路共達318公里。

鄉民的工程申請得理民府批准後，農輔會透過漁農處或理民府將水坭分派到各鄉村。建築工程多由村民於農閒時合力進行。

這些鄉村建設，便利鄉民日常生活、改善農田灌溉，提升了農業生產力。由於蔬菜能夠更快捷、更新鮮地運抵市場，售價自然更佳。


Water dam at Ngau Tam Mei donated by KAAA, 1950s
農輔會捐贈水泥予牛潭尾建水壩，1950年代

Farmers needed money to purchase feed and other agricultural necessities, but they were often rejected by banks who considered their requests “high risk”. As a consequence, farmers were often forced to turn to “laan” (vegetable wholesalers) or unscrupulous money-lenders, who charged usury rates as high as 8% to 30% per month.

In 1953, the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund (KAALF) was established to improve this situation. The KAALF granted interest-free or low interest short-term loans without security. After becoming overwhelmed with applications and following administrative complications, the trust was put under the administration of the government by an ordinance in 1955.


農耕畜牧需要資金採購飼料及其他所需品，唯銀行往往因農貸風險高而拒絕貸款，農民唯有求借於欄商(蔬菜批發商)或高利貸，月息高達八厘至三分。

農輔會於1953年成立農業貸款基金，讓農戶獲得免息或低息免保貸款。由於申請太多，農輔會應接不暇，政府於1955年通過條例，接手管理貸款基金。

Booth about Kadoorie Agricultural Loan Fund in Agricultural show 1960s
農展會內介紹嘉道理農業貸款基金的攤位，1960年代

According to the KAAA studies in 1956 - 1957, there were almost 9,000 recorded cases of extreme hardship amongst widowed women in rural areas, many of whom had lost their husbands during the Second World War. These widows survived by working odd-jobs such as hillside grass cutting. The KAAA offered free gifts according to each widow’s needs: pigs or cattle for younger widows and hens and cocks for older widows.


五十年代的新界有近9,000寡婦，當中不少於二次大戰期間喪夫，此後從事割草等雜役勉強過活。農輔會根據寡婦能力派贈牲畜：壯年的可獲贈豬屋、母豬或耕牛，年老者則獲贈雞。

Widows being gifted cattle by Horace Kadoorie
賀理士‧嘉道理於沙田親手授牛予寡婦

After several years of operation and observation, the KAAA felt that enhanced assistance in the form of breed improvement and economic feasibility should be based on solid scientific research.  It also wanted to explore the viability of hillside farming on the slopes of the New Territories. It was said that on one of Horace Kadoories’ frequent walks across the upper slopes of Tai Mo Shan, he came across abandoned terraces of tea and evidence of rice and plantain cultivation. He also found an untended tangerine tree flourishing in the wilderness. This discovery had inspired Horace to set up the KAAA Experimental Farm at Paak Ngau Shek in 1956, which would also become the KAAA’s new headquarters.


經過數年的運作和了解，農輔會意識到要進一步提升農產，必須透過研究和實驗以改良品種和技術，並減低耕作成本。農輔會同時希望嘗試在新界地區推廣山坡耕作。據說這是因爲賀理士有次在大帽山山坡上發現昔日茶園工人種植大蕉和稻米痕跡，還有一株無人料理卻茁壯生長的橘樹，實驗農場為豬隻特製食槽所以萌起開墾山坡的念頭。爲此，農輔會於1956年在林村白牛石開山劈石，建造實驗農場，亦為農輔會提供新總部。

Kadoorie Farm in the early years
早年的嘉道理農場

A special feeding trough on the upper slopes at the Experimental Farm, which aimed to engage pigs in exercise. Their growth was documented in detail.

實驗農場山坡上特別設計的豬隻餵飼槽，旨在誘導豬隻多運動。牠們的生長情況會被詳細記錄。

A special feeding trough for pigs at the Experimental Farm
實驗農場為豬隻特製食槽

The Agricultural Show was once a major event in the New Territories. First organised in 1953 by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, the show aimed to promote agricultural development and the local rural economy. Competitions were organised for farmers in over 200 categories, ranging from agricultural produce to farming equipment, to encourage knowledge exchange. The final show was held in 1972.


農產品展覽會（農展會）曾是新界一年一度的盛事，首屆於1953年舉行。農展會由漁農處籌辦，目的是增加本地農業生產，改善鄉村經濟。農展會比賽各式各樣，由瓜菜家禽以至農具設計合共超過二百項，冀以競爭和獎勵提升農業技術，讓各區農民交流種植心得。最後一屆農展會於1972年舉行。

Booths in the Agricultural Show
農展會內的攤位

Staff from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department stayed at Castle Peak Experimental Farm’s temporary workshop operating around the clock to ensure that billboards along major thoroughfares and other graphics on site would be ready in time for the Agricultural Show.

漁農處人員為了製作通往農展會路上的廣告牌以及場內的圖表，日以繼夜在政府青山農場趕工，並暫住臨時工場。

A roadside billboard for the Agricultural Show in 1957
通往場地路上的廣告牌，1957年

Hong Kong’s agricultural industry began to decline in the 1970s when urbanisation in the New Territories picked up speed and farmers moved away from rural areas. Keeping pace with this change, KAAA became the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Corporation (KFBG) in 1995, and has been actively responding to climate change by promoting the adaptation of localised and low-carbon lifestyles in recent years.

自1970年代起，新界都市化步伐加快，農耕人口外流，香港農業明顯萎縮。嘉道理農業輔助會因應社會改變，於1995年轉型為「嘉道理農場暨植物園」，至近年更積極宣揚在地低碳生活，以應對全球暖化危機。